Help with pregnant stray

Wow she is huge! She is about the size my Olive was and she had 5 kittens.

Yeah I am resigned to the fact that more than 2 kittens are coming. Hopefully not more than 5. I really hope I can be here for the birth because I have to work a lot this week (I am an attorney and we have some huge deadlines). Reading the other thread made me think that because pregnant kitty is a young cat, she might not realize she has to lick the kittens faces so they can breath.

She is getting very protective of her belly and backside (when I try to check her for discharge).

For a pregnant cat, she is very strong and I have given up trying to mess with her back there to try and see what is going on. When it happens, it will happen.

A guy at work told me he might take 2 of the kittens because he had just put his 12 year old cat to sleep the day before (poor think died of cancer) and he has a 5 year old daughter who really wants a kitten. I let him know it will be at least 6-8 weeks from birth so they can be weaned.

I cannot reiterate how much you guys have helped me on these forums. Without your advice, I probably would have just let her live outside and the kittens would have been in danger. And honestly, now I realize its not that hard to do and the risk of her giving my other cats any diseases is very low since they are separated.

Thanks guys, if you are ever in Houston let me know and I will buy you lunch or make a donation to your favorite animal type charity.

Also, my wife came up with the name "Pixie" which I think fits her very well. What do you guys think?

I think Pixie is a great name! And good for you for taking her in and doing right by her. She is quite roly-poly!! I am wondering if just a little of the distension is from the worms you mentioned.

Also, best to keep the kittens with Momma for 10-12 weeks. Even after they are weaned, they still nurse sometimes and it's good for them to have the extra time to learn how to be cats. Sometimes there are issues with kits taken too soon - will play extra rough, bite, etc. b/c they haven't been taught boundaries by momma and sibs.

Oh goodness what a DARLING!

And enormous, too!

I kind of wondered myself if Ms Friskers was eating too much, but as soon as she had the kittens, she returned to normal kitty size, plus some extra weight on her tummy that I am chalking up to milk for the time being. So I wouldn't worry about it. Ms Friskers was eating almost continually -- she was also a stray, and I think part of it was getting to the point of realizing that there would always be more food.

Still no kittens.

People at work were getting annoyed with me for talking about this cat all the time, so I stopped mentioning her. Now all I hear is "has she had the kittens yet??"

can you post some new pix of her and her cute big belly?

Oo, how is she!?

Pregnant rescue kitties officially make me totally sappy... I am such a sucker.

for those kittens coming soon!

Still no kittens!!! Her temperature was 98.8 a week and a half ago, and I thought it was imminent. I have felt a bit of squiggling from her belly - not very often, but I do not see anything moving visibly.

When is she going to have these kittens? Are there kittens??

She looks even fatter. I am assuming there isn't a medical condition that could make her look this rotund without being pregnant yes? She does have the tapeworms, but her belly is so distended she has to be pregnant.

Still no kittens, but for the first time i have had her in the guest room, she has started chilling under the bed instead of on the table near the window.

Hopefully she has them soon.

Pregnant kitty is no longer pregnant. She had 8 kittens while we were sleeping last night, all are either all black or black and white with streaks. I am a little freaked out that she had so many, but i should have known given how big her belly is. Hopefully I can find good homes for all of them - its going to be challenging. Especially the all black ones....hopefully they are not all black and just need to be cleaned a bit because I have heard its harder to get the all black ones adopted.

She seems to be taking care of them all very well. She chose under the bed on the carpet to have them and starting moving them into the box I provided after the seventh cat was born. I helped her move 3-4 of them.

The eighth is a smaller one, and he still has that bloody thing attached to him. She is sleeping now.

I shut off the vents to that room so they don't get cold. Its getting pretty hot in there, but they should be fine. Anyways, I am willing to pay for their shots, so if anyone knows a good way to place these kittens (once they have spent the requisite time with their mother, of course), please do not hesitate to let me know.

I will be posting pictures later once she has rested.

Wow, 8!

Poor mama kitty.

She's going to have to feed in shifts.

Make that 9 kittens...

OMG 9... that's amazing. I hope she is finished now. Can't wait to see pic. With that many you may need a wide angle lens. lol

Make that 11 kittens...

1 doesn't appear to be doing much of anything, isn't suckling, and momma cat didn't clean the bloody thing hanging from its belly, so I don't think he will make it.

The amount of cats I have in my house just increased by 400%...I have no idea what I am going to do with all these kittens. If someone has any good ideas for getting kittens adopted, please let me know. I didn't realize she could have this many...

You have to cut the placenta yourself if she doesnt!!!

take some string and tie it about an inch or two from the kitten, they cut with a clean pair of scissors.

I hope it's not too late.

Congrats on the kittens! I cant believe she had so many!!! She must be SO tired!

A tip for cats with large litters:

Separate the kittens into two different boxes.

A cat only has 8 nipples (some have 10 but it is statistically challenged) If you have a large number of kittens, the dominant, stronger kittens will bully the weaker and they will starve to death, never getting their chance at a nipple.

If you separate them into two boxes, the mom might try to move them, but after awhile she will leave them be, but she will visit both boxes giving them equal time to nurse.

I wish you all the luck with this litter - bless your heart for bringing in the mom! With such a large litter they most certainly had slim chances outside on their own.

Thank you for your advice. Momma cat is obviously tired. Does the placenta only attach to one kitten or did she eat the ones from all the other kittens?

She doesn't seem hungry at all so I guess she ate all that gross stuff when she was giving birth or something. If anyone has any suggestions for giving away these kittens, please please please let me know what I should do.

Each kitten is born with their own placenta. She ate the others. She probably wont be hungry right away, but nursing 11 kittens will be taxing so she definitely will need the calories!! Dont be surprised when you clean the litter box tomorrow! Placenta-poops arent the most pleasant

Try saying that 3 times real fast

Good luck!! I am still amazed at the number of kittens she had!

The largest litter of kittens on record is 19, from a Burmese/Siamese cat in 1970.

The largest known litter (with all surviving) was that of a Persian in South Africa named Bluebell. Bluebell gave birth to 14 kittens in one litter.

Your litter is definitely up there!

Good luck in finding them homes, you have awhile to place them so that is working for you. There is a thread in the preggo cat forum about charging a small fee for kittens. This is supposed to deter from abusive adopters. More important than the adoption fee is screening the owners. If this seems to be a daunting task for you, when the time nears, you may consider calling a no-kill shelter in your area, explain to them your situation and I would hope they can help you adopt out your babies.

I just read thru your thread and laughed my head off as the kittens kept coming. SHe did look huge!

FYI, I also took in a pregnant stray a few months ago who had 4 kittens (2 months ago). Mama cat is all black and 2 of the kittens are all black and all have future homes. We actually had more people who wanted kittens than we had kittens, and here's how it happened:

I have grade school aged kids and when word spread around the school that we had kittens, I had moms calling me daily to ask about them....all the kids were begging their moms and dads for a kitten. All 4 of ours have great homes to go to in a few weeks (and we even have people on the wait list in case anything falls thru---which wont happen). So if you have any connections at a local elementary school, I'd start there. The kids were the ones who started the ball rolling, but the parents are now the most eager to get their kittens.

BTW thank you for taking in this poor cat. After reading so many horrible stories about animal abuse in the papers, it restores my faith in humanity to come to this site and read stories of people who go out of their way to help an animal in need.

p.s. Your house is going to be so much fun in a few weeks. We only have 4 kittens, but they are running around and tumbling like crazy. I can't get enough of them. It's like having an army of slapstick comediens around 24/7. Enjoy.